Very Valentine by by Adriana Trigiani

If you enjoy family stories, the first in Adriana Trigiani's new trilogy will keep you happily turning pages.

Very Valentine introduces you to Valentine Roncalli, the grandaughter of a famous shoe maker and apprentice to her grandmother, the master shoemaker, Teodora.

The action surrounds Valentine's effort to modernize her family's custom shoe company and keep it afloat in the 21st century.

The story takes place in Manhattan and Italy, and Valentine finds possibilities for love in both places.

Trigiani's writing style is like having a conversationwith an old friend-sometimes funny and sometimes said. I really enjoyed her descriptions of of her Manhattan neighborhood and the Italiam countryside that she visits.

If you enjoy the first book in the series make sure to read Brava Valentine which continues Valentine's story.

The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

Set in rural New York , you get to meet Truly Plaice and her family. Truly's mother died giving birth to her , so she is left with her depressed father and her beautiful, perfect sister Serena.

The plot revolves around the fact that Truly is "different". She suffers from a glandular problem that leaves her extra tall and extra hefty. She is not like her perfect sister Serena , and everyone treats her badly because of it.

During the course of the book you hope that things will turn out well for Truly. She is a good person and all she wants is to be accepted. She doesn't have a lot of expectations for herself which is sad because she deserves a lot more than what she is getting.

How does Truly's life end up? Read this touching novel and find out. I hope there is a seques to Truly's story because she is such a funny, honest character.

The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer

I have become a fan of memoir writing and "The Tender Bar" is one of my favorites. How could you not love a sweet , funny story about a kid that's "raised" in a bar? Just because he's too young to be in a bar in the first place is irrelevant. As the author writes himself "Long before it legally served me, the bar saved me." What a great line!

The story is about J.R. Moehringer's childhood in Manhasset, Long Island. He is the child of a single mother and has no real father figure in his life. He and his mom live with his grandparents, his mother's 2 grown siblings and their children. His home life is obviously a little chaotic.

One of the most interesting characters is his Uncle Charlie who hangs out at the local bar named "Dickens". During the course of the story J.R. sneaks in with him and is befriended by the men that frequent Dickens. There follows a great coming of age story about how these men become the "fathers" that a fatherless boy didn't have.

Reading Moehringer's book is like watching an old episode of "Cheers" . All of the characters are well drawn and when you reach the final pages you'll be sorry that the story is over.

A Rather Lovely Inheritance, A Rather Curious Engagement and A Rather Charming Invitation by C. A. Belmond

I have found a very charming trilogy that I'd like to share with you! The first volume is A Rather Lovely Inheritance followed by A Rather Curious Engagemnt and ending in A Rather Charming Inheritance.

C. A. Belmond has created a really likeable character in the person of Penny Nichols. Penny hates her name that was given to her by her loveable but bohemian parents who named her after Great aunt Penelope.

Penny travels to London to hear the reading of the will of Aunt Penelope. While there she re-connects to her hunky, English cousin Jeremy who is also mentioned in the will. Jeremty inherits a villa in the South of France and Penny inherits the contents of the garage at the villa. Seems like a strange bequest doesn't it?

Naturally Penny and Jeremy travel to France to check out their respective inheritances and that's where the fun begins. A mystery comes to light as well as a question a s to whether Jeremy is a true blood realative to Great Aunt Penelope and likewise to Penny herself. Can you guess what happens next? To say more would spoil the story. I CAN tell you all three novels are fun rading and Penny and Jeremy have many adventures in store .